Tips

Console

To limit console output:

Window, Preferences, Run/Debug, Console, Limit console output:

../../images/howto/eclipse/limit-console-output.gif

Editor

Format edited lines on save.

Window, Preferences, Java, Editor, Save Action, Perform the selected actions on save, Format source code, tick Format edited lines.

Occurence Highlighting

Eclipse Occurence Highlighting

Eclipse has this lovely feature where it highlights all occurrences of the element (method, variable etc.) the cursor is currently on. I love it. But sometimes it goes away, and I can’t figure out why. Today I finally broke down and looked for the preference to turn it back on:

Java, Editor, Mark Occurrences…

Launch

ini

Eclipse goodie: your actual name instead of login in JavaDoc author tags

Options can be set in the eclipse.ini file e.g:

-vm
C:\tools\java\jdk1.6.0\bin\javaw
-vmargs
-Xms64m
-Xmx1024m
-Duser.name=Patrick Kimber

The path to the virtual machine must be in native format and end with the name of the javaw exe.

On my workstation this file is in the Eclipse installation folder:

C:\tools\eclipse-3.1.2\eclipse.ini

Shortcut

This is supposed to set the jdk (but I am not convinced it is working):

C:\tools\eclipse-3.1.2\eclipse.exe -vm C:\tools\j2sdk1.4.2_09\jre\bin\javaw

This article might be helpful: Eclipse - a tale of two VMs (and many classloaders).

Workspace

From Tips for using Eclipse effectively and Top 10 Tips For New Eclipse Users, Blog

I always launch eclipse from the command-line using a script. Passing the -showlocation flag adds the workspace location to the windows title bar so that you can easily see which window is for which workspace. I normally start Eclipse with a little extra memory too (I find it works a little snappier that way). A good default for launching Eclipse if you’re working with sizeable projects would be something like this:

eclipse.exe -showlocation -vmargs -Xmx512m

These settings can be specified in the eclipse.ini file (see above).

(I use cygwin, and I find that Eclipse tends to dump nonsense to the console that I don’t want to see, hence the redirect).

eclipse.exe -showlocation -vmargs -Xmx512m > /dev/null 2>&1

User Name

Eclipse goodie: your actual name instead of login in JavaDoc author tags

-Duser.name=Patrick Kimber

Subversion

If you are using Subversion but not an Eclipse client then you will want Eclipse to ignore the .svn folders. To do this:

Add an extension .svn in Window, Preferences, Team, Ignored resources.

Typical error messages which you will solve by setting this property:

The resource is a duplicate of src/main/java/.svn/entries and was not copied to the output folder

Update

Any time you get a chance, export your bookmark files from Help, Software Updates, Find and Install, Search for new features to install, Export sites dialog. Having them saved away in a safe place makes it much easier to re-create another development environment.

WorkSpace

Preferences

There is no need to configure each workspace individually every time you create a new one! Get one workspace set up exactly how you like it, and then select File, Export, Preferences. This will create a file that contains all of your preferences settings that you can keep in (e.g.) your home directory. Whenever you create a fresh workspace, use File, Import, Preferences and you’re good to go.

Launch

The easiest way to specify which workspace Eclipse uses is to use the -data and -showlocation parameters with the launcher:

eclipse -data c:\myworkspace -showlocation

The -data parameter directs Eclipse to use the c:\myworkspace directory on the local machine as the workspace directory. The -showlocation parameter shows the workspace location in the Eclipse title bar - very helpful when running multiple Eclipse instances at the same time.